About The Center
The Center for Local History and Memory at the University of
Arkansas-Fort Smith grew out of student-faculty efforts in 1997 to
collect oral history interviews to document the first seventy years of
the college. One hundred fifty interviews were made and transcribed.
Those interviews form the basis of the historically significant
archives on our campus.
Recent subjects for the Center include the early days of Camp Chaffee
and the Fort Chaffee Refugee Relocation Program of 1975. The National
Collegiate Honors Council's Portz Fund awarded a grant for the honors
student interviews and archive materials in 2001-02. The Center is
located on campus in Gardner Building 221. Interviews are gifts to the
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Reproduction rights are at the
discretion of the institution. Please contact the University prior to
duplication of any material posted on this website to protect yourself
from copyright infringement.
Current Project: Oral History Interviews regarding the Southeast Asian Relocation Project at Fort Chaffee in 1975.
Overview: Oral history interviews are collected by students from the
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Interviewees include refugees who
relocated in the UA - Fort Smith area and staff members at Fort Chaffee
who assisted the refugees at a critical time in their lives. Along with
their memoirs, interviewees have deeded collateral documents and
artifacts to the Center.
Past Projects
About Us
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